Oh, look, forsythias...

Distance: 3.24 miles
Duration: 37:11
Avg Pace: 11:27 min/mile
Route: MapMyRun

It was a cold and drizzly day. and I went for a run anyhow. I hated the run; I hated being out there today, but I needed it for my sanity. Does running in the drizzly rain make me crazy, obsessed, stupid, or hardcore?

I got a side stitch in the first half mile. I ran through it and by the second mile, I had forgotten about it.

I thought about blogging a lot while I was on this run. Then I also thought about how I keep meaning to call my mom about the forsythias (which I always called for-cynthia's). I thought about Twitter, too. And how much I hate the last half mile (it's SO boring). and how my heart rate would go up at the exact same points of my run. oooh, and how when I start running on a cool day, I hide my hands inside the sleeves of my sweatshirt, but by about the first .75 mile, my hands are plenty warm and I pop them out. Every time. And how I'm going to convince a friend to run outside with me just one time so he can see how awesome it is. I also thought about how my pants felt like they were going to fall off. Did I mention there's another really boring part of my run? It's from about 1.5-2 miles.

Aaaaaaaand my mind was just blank a lot of the time, too - just concentrating on my breathing.

See? Running is my meditation.

I'm an opportunist when I brush my teeth.

I don't know if I'll be up for a run today. Why? That rain I was whining about yesterday? Yeah, well, it's here today instead.

It actually held off any precipitation until after my run would have been concluded yesterday -- but no matter, I had something else really important to do during my lunch break (get my stuff ready for Dani's Duds - a giant consignment sale at the Dulles Expo Center this weekend).

I'll just run today. Right? It's rainy and cold. So we'll see.

Today, I'll share something else, in case I don't get to run. I'm trying to find ways to incorporate strength training exercises into my every day life -- finding time is nearly impossible with a full time job, 2 kids, and a hubby who works late a lot.

So I have started small. Every night, when I brush my teeth with my awesome toothbrush, I take the opportunity to use that time to multitask. And I do a wall squat. I'm very nearly able to do the full 2 minutes (my toothbrush has a timer built in!!!) after only about a week of doing this!

Tonight, while playing with the kids, I will try to do some push ups and maybe some other core exercises (esp. for my back!)

I wonder where else I can add in strength exercises. Maybe while doing dishes, I can bounce up and down on my tippy toes, or work on the shin-splints muscles by tapping my toes like I learned in Mommy Bootcamp from my favorite butt-kicking fierce bootcamp instructor, Jen. (also my prenatal pilates instructor).

I think incorporating this kind of stuff into every day moments will really help me in the long run, since I can't dedicate an hour or two every other day to just strength training exercises.

Any other ideas out there or tricks you use to add more exercises when you're doing your every day stuff? I'd love to hear them!